


Over My Dead Body

by BadAtLife



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Dad John, Family hunt, Gen, Ghouls, Hurt Dean, Hurt Sam, John Saves The Day, Pre-Series, Pre-Series Dean Winchester, Pre-Series John Winchester, Pre-Series Sam Winchester, Protective John, The Winchester Family (Supernatural), Weechesters, Winchester Family Angst (Supernatural), Winchester Family Fluff (Supernatural)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:42:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27495178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadAtLife/pseuds/BadAtLife
Summary: John's taken them all on a hunt for something digging up graves. He's pretty sure it's a ghoul or two. Not to much problem even if it is two. Ghouls arent hard to take down; more a pain in the ass than anything. It's all fine and dandy until the old Winchester luck kicks in at the worst time, and the boys confirm it's more than one, more than two, ghouls.Dean's down and out; Sam's still missing; it's up to John to find and save his boys before these monsters take them from him. He's about to show these beasts that neither Heaven nor Hell can save you when you get between John Winchester and his boys.[Dean is 18 - Sam is 14. Not John centric but he saves the day. WeeChesters Hurt!Dean Hurt!Sam Protective/Bad Ass Dad!John]
Comments: 3
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to try my hand at John since I've been kinda dodging writing him.  
> To be fair it has been a serious minute since I've watched Supernatural  
> and binging through 15 seasons is a long process lol. I hope it's not too bad  
> and they arent too OOC but I wanted some Dad John cause he get's a lot of shit,  
> and I think he's just trying his best.
> 
> Set Pre-Series. WeeChesters (does that count teen years or just tiny boys?? I dont actually know  
> cause Dean is not so Wee no more lol).

They’d driven all over the country pretty much, or at least most of it. Still though this last drive was one for the books. Down a stretch of road that was surrounded by nothing but endless rows of trees the Impala followed behind the familiar well-worn truck. The small party had been on the road for hours now, and it was already getting dark. Dean and Sam sat in the familiar space of the Impala silently as Dean’s cassette tape collection was on its second time around. In fact Sam was dozing on and off in the passenger seat with his head resting up against the cool glass while Dean zeroed in and zoned out on the road ahead of them. 

They were headed to a tiny town in the middle of nowhere Vermont. Their dad had gotten a call from some hunter Dean couldn’t remember the name of before John announced they were on the move again. Sam had been a little more compliant than usual regarding the move only because it was the middle of summer vacation and he wasn’t hyper focusing on school. Green eyes glanced over at his brother who had dozed off a few moments ago. It was vacations in the school year that seemed to provide the only freedom from Sam and their father’s constant arguing lately. Dean looked forward to school year vacations for totally different reasons than he used to now. 

Up ahead the truck turned finally and the Impala followed suit not too long after. A little ways down the road the trees cleared and Dean could make out the beginning of a town. A _tiny_ town. Dean huffed as he sagged back in his seat. This was either going to be a quaint, quiet little town, or one of _those_ little towns. The last time they’d been to one of those, weird, little towns their job had been ten times harder cause everyone thought these sudden new comers were tied to the deaths that had started happening even though _they’d just gotten there_. He did not want to deal with that again so soon. 

It was the middle of the night as they finally entered the town’s limits, and the cars slowed down as John was no doubt looking for a motel. Dean had to give the place some points at least since it looked a lot more up kept and quaint than the last one; maybe they’d get lucky this time. When they’d located and pulled into a motel Dean was even more willing to get his hopes up a bit since this motel looked a little better classed than the ones they’d been staying at recently. 

“Sammy.” Dean said as he shoved Sam’s shoulder, “Hey wake up genius we’re in town.”

Bleary eyes blinked open slowly as Sam yawned and stretched his ever growing limbs as best he could in the car. Sam looked around and his face drew back a bit in question.

“This is kinda, nice?” Sam looked at Dean obviously waiting for an answer.

“Yeah the whole town kinda looks like this; least the parts we drove passed.” Dean leaned back as they waited for their dad to return, “We might actually get lucky here for once.”

Sam hummed as his eyes squinted, “I don’t think luck and Winchesters exist in the same universe Dean.”

The older laughed a bit, “Yeah, okay. You’ve got that one.”

John came into view as he passed the truck and nodded once to the boys. They both got out and stretched before Dean caught the keys John had tossed. Room number 21 was located towards the end of the motel which was good at least; neighbors on only one side and that was their dad. Dean pushed the door open as Sam came in after him with a few of their bags. The contrast to their last few accommodations was painfully obvious as Sam dropped the duffel bags onto the floor. There were no stains on the carpet, or things growing in the tiles in the bathroom floor. The air didn’t smell like stale cigarette smoke, and everything was tidy. 

“Wow. Go figure we actually did luck out for once.” Dean said as he flopped back onto the bed nearest the door.

“I guess this town wont be like the last one.” Sam said as Dean listened to him walk back toward the door.

The middle Winchester laughed which made Sam raise a questioning eyebrow at him, but the youngest didn’t ask. 

John was out by the truck, the door to room 19 open and it looked like John had already moved his stuff in. 

“Where’s your brother?” John raised an eyebrow when he saw Sam back in the Impala’s trunk.

“He flopped onto a bed and didn’t get up.” Sam huffed as he shut the trunk slinging the last bag onto his shoulder, “He drove the whole way here though so I didn’t bother him…”

“Well you and your brother get set up, get some sleep.” John said as the truck door slammed shut, “We’ll start looking around tomorrow morning. 0800 sharp.”

“Yes, sir.” Sam sighed as he turned and headed back to the room. 

Dean was still on the bed where Sam left him and the youngest Winchester huffed before he walked over and tossed the bag onto Dean’s guts. The older startled with a grunt as he propped himself up on his elbow and glared at Sam who was already over at the other bed. 

“Dad said 0800.” Sam relayed as he started taking his shoes off.

Dean moved the bag off himself and kicked his own shoes off without bothering to untie them. Sam was in the middle of changing and folding his own clothes when Dean’s jacket, outer shirt, socks, and pants came flying across the room and landed in a heap near the duffel bags up against the wall. Sam blinked at the clothes before he glanced over and watched Dean slid himself under the blankets and all but sink into the bed. 

“You’re not even going to brush your teeth first?” Sam asked with almost disbelief in his voice.

“I’ll do it in the morning.” Dean’s voice floated across the room but his brother didn’t move.

Sam pulled a face of disgust at the answer before shoving Dean’s clothes off the bags and putting his back into his own duffel. Grabbing his own supplies Sam walked into the bathroom and brushed his own teeth, a little extra for good measure after thinking about Dean’s answer, before the youngest Winchester made his own way into bed. He crawled through the sheets to turn the lights off before he settled back into the darkness. 

“Goodnight, Dean.” Sam said after a moment of silence had filtered in.

At first he thought Dean was already asleep, and was vaguely aware of the little feeling of disappointment that stirred in him. Sam smiled into the darkness though, when he heard a light hum of “Night Sammy” from his brother.

It was oddly nice to be laying in a bed that was actually mildly comfortable after their recent stops, and judging by Dean’s sudden snoring that was starting to drift through the silence Sam was safe to guess Dean would have agreed. Turning onto his side Sam relaxed and let himself doze into the pull of sleep. 

**XXX**

It was nearly midnight now, but John was sitting up at the small table in the room as he read through a few local stories online. Bodies had been disappearing from a graveyard and it was throwing the towns people into a stir. Articles online from the local newspaper didn’t little help besides repeating the same facts, but it was start. All the bodies were disappearing from the Old Yard cemetery a little ways away from where they were currently staying. So far there’d been reports of five graves dug up over the course of three weeks. There were no tracks in or out which was stumping authorities, and they’d gotten nowhere it seemed. 

There were a number of things John figured could be behind this, and some he was hoping for over others. He’d rather not run into a witch coven, but then again that was unlikely they were never that obvious or messy. Ghoul came up after that and John rubbed a hand down his face. Ghouls weren’t terribly strong, but they could be a pain. Especially if there was more than one of them, and five bodies in only three weeks had to mean more than one if it was ghouls. 

He read through a number of pages about the town. There were seven cemeteries it seemed, but so far only the one seemed to have been disturbed. That narrowed it down, but John didn’t want to count anything out. They’d check the others just in case. No tracks in or out had John wondering how the ghouls were coming and going let alone with a dead body. The suckers were agile but they weren’t magic.

The oldest Winchester sighed and closed the computer. They didn’t know for sure if it was ghouls; he didn’t want to get ahead of himself. They’d investigate and look around tomorrow and try to narrow it down. Hopefully there’d be something left behind they could use.

As he got ready to turn in for the night he couldn’t quite fight off an offsetting feeling in his gut. It was that feeling that made him uncomfortable for a bunch of different reasons, and it usually came with something bad happening. John sighed as he grabbed a silver container from his own bag and pulled open the door of the motel room. He glanced around for a moment, and after seeing no one nearby to question his next actions John walked over to the boy’s room. 

He wasn’t entirely sure what would work and wouldn’t work until they knew exactly what they were dealing with, but John wanted to at least cover bases. Just be safe. The door handles to the rooms were made of a smooth and simple iron already, which John had noted pleasantly after he’d started playing with the idea of ghouls, but he’d feel better if he knew there was at least salt somewhere. Unsure if the boys had done it themselves or not John bent down outside the door of room 21 and carefully laid a line of salt as far under the door as he could get it. Little towns were rather, notorious, when it came to spirits it seemed. Once the line was laid John stood and briefly checked the door, and finding it was indeed locked the oldest Winchester headed back to his own room. 

The feeling didn’t go away even as John laid down for sleep, but he just told himself he’d be extra aware of what was going on while they were in town. 

He even found himself hoping it was just ghouls. Ghouls he could handle.

Ghouls would be fine.

**XXX**

“Ugh. Ghouls?” Sam flopped back into the chair he was occupying across from their father at the little table in the room. 

Dean was sitting on the bed with a cup of coffee with his own version of displeasure on his face, “If it’s ghouls I think we’re going to need a lot of car trees... 

“It’s only a theory Sam.” John said carefully after Sam squinted at Dean, “Don’t know for sure. It just seems like the most plausible option right now.”

“Gross.” Sam sighed as his head hung on the back of the chair, “As if grave robbing wasn’t enough.”

“There are seven cemeteries in town.” John started, “The only one that’s been reportedly dug up is Old Yard. We’re still going to check the other six to be sure we don’t miss anything.”

“Are we dividing the cemeteries?” Dean asked after shot gunning the last of his coffee and hoping off the bed.

“I’ll take the three near the other side of town; you two do the ones closer to here.” John stood up as well, “It’s just investigation. Find anything you can to help us narrow this down but don’t go running off guns blazing.”

His eyes settled heavily on Dean who had the sense to avert his eyes for a second. 

“It shouldn’t take too long.” John mentioned last minute as he reached for the door, “We should all be back here before it gets too late.”

“Yes, sir.” Dean and Sam said in unison as their father left. 

“Ugh I hate ghouls.” Sam huffed as he got up finally and grabbed his duffel bag, “I feel like we spend more time in cemeteries than dead people do.”

Dean chuckled as he grabbed the Impala’s keys, and tucked his handgun in his waistband, “We’ll that’s cause our dead people don’t stay dead Sammy. Somebody’s gotta clock in hours in the dirt.”

The boys headed out as Sam muttered a defiant “Why’s it always gotta be us…” that Dean decided to ignore this time. He wasn’t really feeling up for an argument so early in the morning.

John was already getting into his truck as Sam and Dean pulled the doors open on the Impala.

“Be careful boys.” John said, “Don’t be stupid.”

“Thanks.” Sam rolled his eyes as he got into the car.

Dean sighed at Sam, but nodded at their father, “Will do dad.”

The truck roared to life before John pulled out and was gone by the time Dean started up the Impala.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop, update!   
> Ima be honest I only proof-read like, the first quarter so forgive any mistakes Ima come back and proof through the whole thing later. It's just really late here lol.  
> This one is MUCH longer than the first chapter, and honestly wanst sure if I should split it or keep it. Personally I like longer chapters when I'm reading a fic, but hey to each their own.
> 
> Sorry if this is a bit funky. I have the outline of the story from start, mid, finish, but the in-betweens kinda throw me for a loop.   
> Anyhoo, hope it's not terrible! John is still an enigma for me to wright right now. I feel like my scenes are still jumpy.  
> But besides it all...  
> Let's get spooky.

The loud rumble of the Impala broke the silence of the first cemetery as it rolled to a stop just before the old iron gates. Sam got out of the car before it was off, the door slamming shut over a loud array of Led Zeppelin and Dean screaming lyrics. The youngest Winchester stuck a finger in his ear and made a face as he let the regular volume of the world filter back into his senses. He loved his brother but god sometimes he just had way too much energy. 

“Didn’t even let me finish the song Sammy.” Dean said getting out of the car with a mocking pout.

Sam glared at him from over the roof of the car, “I would much rather like to keep my hearing thanks.”

“Ouch.” 

The brothers walked into the graveyard together and looked around. The stones were old and weathered, and stretched pretty far back. A few trees grew off to the sides of the cemetery, and honestly it looked just like the first one they’d checked. 

“I’ll go this way. You take that way.” Dean waved Sam off toward the right, “Howl if you see anything.”

Sam rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh at Dean’s dumb grin before the brothers split off. The last graveyard had been the farthest; Dean deciding to start farthest and work their way in. It had been perfectly normal with no signs of flesh eating monsters, and as Sam rounded the rows of this one it looked like it was going to be the same. Dean rounded closer to Sam’s half of the graves as he made it down one of his own rows and Sam could hear his brother half-singing a Foreigner song. 

The youngest Winchester figured there were worse ways to be spending a Tuesday than walking through a graveyard, but he still wasn’t feeling it. He kept glancing toward Dean, but his brother was off in his own world as he walked only occasionally stopping to crouch down and check the dirt around a grave or two. Sam had just turned around to walk back down when he startled. Standing in front of him was an elderly man. His hair was wiry and brown eyes were dull as they stared suspiciously at Sam. 

Blinking down at the man Sam looked around for Dean before turning his attention back.

“What you and y’er friend lookin for son?” The old man said with a scratchy voice, as if he didn’t use it too often. 

Sam shifted uncomfortably under his intense gaze, “Uh, we were just looking for someone from our blood line is all…”

The old man eyed him for a moment longer before he seemed to back off a bit. Sam sighed quietly and was glad he’d taken the time to read a bit through the town’s page online. Increased tourism for the rise in genealogy interest was a pretty good escape for wondering graveyards apparently. Sam watched the old eyes shift to Dean who the youngest Winchester found slowly making his way toward them. 

“Well you two better keep an eye out.” The man said as Dean joined them, “There’s been somebody diggin up graves.”

“The ones at Old Yard?” Sam asked curiously, “We saw the articles online.”

Dean seemed to study the old man carefully; for once remaining quiet. Sam wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. 

A nod was their answer as the old man shuffled a little bit toward a rather newer grave stone and kicked some dirt that was sitting up on it, “There and a few others. Even had a few dug out here ya know.”

“You did?” Sam raised a curious eyebrow at Dean whose own were scrunched in question, “There was nothing in articles about anywhere but Old Yard.”

Neither of them had seen signs of freshly turned soil.

“Course not. Buried ‘em all back in. No use gettin the authorities involved over some dead folks. They a’nt gonna find those bodies, ‘n I don’t want the hassle. Was a while ago anyway.” The old man peered back at the boys, “Don’t stay too late. Things move in the darkness here.”

The two watched as he shuffled away from them until he was far out of hearing range. 

“Well that was unnecessarily spooky.” Dean huffed as he shoved his hands in his pockets, “Don’t report desecration to authorities? Burry the holes in himself? You really think that old timer can move six feet’a dirt by himself?”

Sam pondered for a moment. It was rather odd and definitely suspicious. Ghouls could take shape of anybody they happen to get a bite out of; alive or dead. Sam also couldn’t see him reburying holes on his own if he was human. 

“I don’t think so… he’s way too…”

“Old?”

Sam hummed, “Yeah… we’ll tell dad. We still have one yard left to check too. This one is pretty far from Old Yard though.” Sam ran through the map in his mind as they turned and headed back toward the Impala, “If the ghouls did hit this one and Old Yard that would widen their activity zone… but he said it was a while ago. Maybe they moved to Old Yard after this one lost their interest?”

“I dunno Sammy. You and dad can figure that one out. Let’s get this last cemetery out of the way.” Dean said as he pulled the keys out of his pocket and swung them around his finger, “I’m hungry.”

Sam scoffed as he pulled the door open, “You’re _always_ hungry.”

Dean just grinned wide at him from over the roof of the car.

**XXX**

Two out of three of the graveyards he’d checked out had evidence of new dirt on older gravestones. John had found that some of it was already growing grass and weeds which meant the dirt had been turned a while ago. That was suspicious. If there was more evidence of dug out graves why was Old Yard the only one that had articles covering it? He briefly wondered if the boy’s had found anything, and if they did that would lead to a problem. John wasn’t feeling good about the facts that were lining up at the moment, and that feeling in his gut was only getting more noticeable. 

The older hunter shut to the door to his truck as he flipped through his journal. The few things he had found besides the dirt were leading more and more to ghouls and John was a little relieved if he was going to be honest; they could take out a couple of ghouls no problem. By now he was sure that there had to at least be two of them; there was too much activity for just one. Ghouls didn’t typically exist together in more than a pair, but John just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. It was about mid-afternoon and the boys should almost be done if they weren’t already. 

John pulled the truck out slowly, but as he turned back he stopped. Ahead of him at the edge of the graveyard someone stood just to the side of an old tree. John could feel the gaze from across the distance and watched intently. He couldn’t make out details, but it was definitely a man. Just as John went to pull the truck back in the body stepped behind the tree and didn’t reappear. The hunter got out and jogged to the tree cautiously approaching. Investigating led him nowhere; there was nothing around that made sense as to where the body had gone. 

Cursing quietly John decided it was time to regroup and figure out what they had all found out. That feeling was getting worse now and he didn’t want to let the boys run around unaware they were apparently being watched.

**XXX**

“Sometimes I think you’ve got nothing in you but a black hole…” Sam said as he sat across from his brother and watched him finish off his third sandwich and shotgun his soda as the waitress was coming back around. 

“Look, Sammy, we haven’t eaten since…what… yesterday afternoon?? I’m hungry.” Dean grinned at his brother as the woman came around and collected his and John’s glasses with a quick promise of bringing more. 

John watched his boys with just a hint of amusement as Sam slowly worked on his own food while Dean picked off the last of his fries.

“Dean when _aren’t_ you hungry?” Sam huffed as he launched half a grape-tomato at his brother.

The offending tomato nailed Dean square in the nose and the older pulled a face of shock, “How old are you Sammy?”

Dean looked about ready to retaliate, but John knew exactly where this was going. With a quiet chuckle John’s eyebrows scrunched together as he held his hand up slightly between his boys.

“Alright you two. We’re supposed to _not _draw attention to ourselves.”__

__The younger Winchesters nodded each with a quiet “Yes, sir”, but John caught the look Dean shot Sam that said this wasn’t over._ _

__The waitress returned with new drinks for Dean and John, and after she left it was time for work talk._ _

__“How were the other three graveyards?” John asked quietly._ _

__“Well, two of them were normal enough.” Sam started, “The second one we went to…”_ _

__“There was this spooky old dude.” Dean cut in, “Told us straight he’d filled in dug up graves himself. Said a while ago somebody was digging up graves in that yard. I’m tellin ya dad he was super suspicious; super old and hunched over. No way that guy could shovel six feet of dirt by himself without crossing over.”_ _

__“Unless he wasn’t totally, human.” Sam suggested warily._ _

__John hummed in response as he mulled over the information. He wasn’t one to work off assumptions, but considering there’d been no other information saying a different cemetery had been torn up before…_ _

__“He said the authorities weren’t going to find the bodies, so there was no use in wasting time getting them involved.” Sam added after a moment._ _

__“That’s quite a claim…” John muttered._ _

__“Should we go back and try to ask him some questions?” Dean said between sips of his new drink._ _

__“No. For now let’s go back to the motel.” John said, “It’s getting later, and I think we’re being watched.”_ _

__This time both boys looked at him intensely. Sam’s eyebrows rose up near to his hairline and Dean scowled like he was offended at the thought._ _

__“There was someone at the last cemetery I went to. Caught them in the corner of my eye just before I left. They disappeared before I could get to ‘em. Not a trace.” John explained._ _

__“Do you think it’s still ghouls?” Dean asked seriously, “I don’t remember ‘em bein able to just vanish…”_ _

__Sam looked both confused, and lost in thought as he sat across from Dean. Ghouls made the most sense, but the vanishing threw a whole wrench into that theory. They needed definite proof or this job was going to take way too long._ _

__A hand raked across his face as John shook his head, “I’m pretty sure it’s got to be. Nothing else fits the MO all things considered. We’ve just got to figure out what’s behind their vanishing act; there’s an explanation for everything. We’ll go back; rake over the research again see if we missed anything.”_ _

__The boys nodded before they all quickly started to get thing together. If they were being watched or followed precautions had to be taken. They h ad to do it fast before someone, or something, got the jump on them._ _

__**XXX** _ _

__It was a little after dark by the time the Sierra and Impala rolled into the motel parking lot. Dean popped out of the car with a yawn and rather dramatic stretch while Sam followed suit much quieter than his brother. John sat in his truck for a moment; flipping through the journal as if he was expecting it to have answers he didn’t remember. The page on ghouls was longer than some of the others. The information numerous and the accounts a lot, but none of it mentioned ghouls vanishing into thin air._ _

__John was starting to think maybe it wasn’t ghouls._ _

__Dean and Sam walked to their room throwing near outrageous theories of how a ghoul could disappear back and forth when Dean stopped. Sam turned back with question on his face as he watched Dean stare at their dad’s room. His face had that alert, crossed expression he got when it was the serious kind of suspicious._ _

__“Dean?” Sam’s eyes followed but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary._ _

__The middle Winchester ignored his brother as he took a few steps toward the door. Green eyes traveled downward to the ground where a small streak of salt was scattered out from under the doorframe._ _

__Dean reached tentatively to test push the door…_ _

__“Dean!” John’s voice was sturdy and the younger looked up as their dad approached._ _

__Already knowing it was unnecessary to say anything Dean stepped back with a quick flick of his eyes to the ground as John’s attention moved to match his son’s gaze. Perhaps to the average person the small amount of salt was not obvious on the cement walkway, but to a hunter it rang like sirens. John pulled his gun with a silent nod to Dean and Sam before the boys trotted over to check their own door. A quick glance and shake of the head from Dean told John it was only his room that seemed to have been invaded._ _

__The oldest Winchester grabbed the key and unlocked the door slowly before he pushed it open. The lights were off, but as the flood of the street lamp came in John couldn’t see any obvious sign of someone having been there. He entered slowly, noticing the salt had an obvious step taken out of it, and looked around. His bags were where he’d left them; his papers scattered across the table as they’d been; the bed was still half made. As John moved through the room and found no sign of an unwanted guest he sighed and holstered the gun. Turning he found the boys hovering in in the doorway before he motioned for them to come in._ _

__Sam bound into the room first before Dean followed shutting the door behind them._ _

__“Anything missing dad?” Dean asked before he bent down and half-heartedly realigned the salt._ _

__“No. Everything looks like it’s where it was when I left it. Look around a little closer; see if there’s anything…”_ _

__The three of them searched again; this time with more detailed attention._ _

__“Dirt!” Sam suddenly cried after a moment of looking around._ _

__The other two joined Sam near the corner of the room where John had stored his bags. The youngest moved a bit and they saw a small chunk of dirt scattered on the rug._ _

__“There’s more.” Dean added as he looked around the same area and found more of it going toward the door._ _

__John crouched down and picked up a bit of it. His eyebrows drew together as his boys watched him before John held up a slightly crushed bit of flower. It was a piece of a yellow daisy; crushed and a little deformed like it had gotten caught in the treads of a shoe._ _

__“I saw these at the graveyard.” John said standing, “They were scattered all over.”_ _

__“At the one where you saw that guy?” Sam asked seriously._ _

__A silent nod was the answer._ _

__“Well now we know for sure we’re being watched.” Dean huffed, “Stalked by dead guys. Not the kind of stalker I was hoping for.”_ _

__“You two go back to your room; check everything just to be sure.” John said as he started to unload, dropping his pistol onto the table, “We’ve got no idea why they’d come all the way here, or even how they knew we were here.”_ _

__With quick nods Sam and Dean left._ _

__They walked into their own room cautiously, but just as John’s room was the same it seemed theirs was as well. There was no dirt tracked into their room though, which begged the question of if it was just John being stalked._ _

__“Think they got some kind of grudge against dad?” Sam asked after the two had showered and settled for the night._ _

__Dean shrugged one shoulder as he flicked aimlessly through the tv channels, “Dunno, but at this point I think everything bad’s got a grudge against dad so.”_ _

__“Think ghouls would go out of their way for it?”_ _

__Another shrug, “Don’t worry Sammy. We can gank a couple of ghouls no problem; even if they are bold enough to wonder the city streets.”_ _

__It was always different to hear it from Dean, but Sam was still a bit uneasy._ _

__“Get some sleep. Dad wants to go early and look around Old Yard tomorrow.” Dean said after a while, “I’m gonna be up a little longer; think I’ll finish this movie before turning in.”_ _

__Sam eyed his brother silently after a glance at the TV. It was some western movie that Dean had just flipped to a few seconds ago. Sam was aware of what he was doing without saying it, but truthfully he felt better knowing Dean would still be up for a while._ _

__Settling in against the pillows Sam reached for the light and turned it off; the only source now the TV screen. Dean was sitting propped up against the headboard as Sam’s eyes wondered over to his brother._ _

__“You are going to go to bed eventually right?” Sam asked in the quiet of the room._ _

__“Course Sammy.” Dean huffed like it was an insult, “I’m not crazy.”_ _

__Satisfied Sam let himself sink into the bed and willed sleep to come. He wasn’t looking forward to rooting around in a graveyard again, but the faster they found out what was going on the faster they could stop. Besides, with Dean around it wasn’t like he had to worry about it too much._ _

__**XXX** _ _

__Dean wasn’t sure what time it was when the movie ended, but he could hear Sam’s even breathing when he turned the TV off. He yawned and stretched his back out as he kicked the blankets aside; stripping off his pants before sliding under them. He rolled onto his side so he could see the door of the motel room as he waited for sleep to pull him in._ _

__Silence filtered calmly through the darkness as his eyes drooped shut slowly, but just as Dean was about to release his consciousness something caught his ear. Instantly he was wide awake again listening. He was pretty sure he’d just heard something. He picked out Sam’s breathing, and after he’d numbed that out of his thoughts for a moment he waited._ _

__Nothing else sounded._ _

__Maybe he was still just a little pent up after they’d discovered someone had been in their dad’s room. No one, nothing, would be dumb enough to come by and break in while they were all there…_ _

__The sound of something scraping distantly shocked Dean’s nerves into alertness._ _

__Well… maybe there was someone apparently…_ _

__It was silent again before the slight scrapes echoed into the still darkness. Sounding closer this time. Was it outside? Dean couldn’t pinpoint it. A wave of nerves pulsed through him as he slowly moved his hand under his pillow where he kept his knife. His fingers wrapped easily around the familiar hilt, but besides that he didn’t move. It sounded again and this time it was a little faster and lasted longer. It was pretty close now; the hair on the back of his neck stood up._ _

__It felt like there were eyes on him, but as much as he wanted to jump up and look around the room he didn’t know if he should move just yet or not. Sam’s breathing hadnt changed, and the kid hadnt even shuffled in his sleep. It wasn’t Sammy. It wasn’t their dad. Neither one of them would have made his sense so on edge even if it was one of them moving around anyway._ _

__There hadnt been anymore sounds after the last, longer one and Dean made a decision. Sitting up on the edge of the bed slowly Dean pulled the blade out as his eyes worked slowly through the darkness. He’d had his eyes on the door the whole time, so he was sitting up now toward Sam. He could make out his brother’s sleeping form easily which was a slight comfort. Standing quietly Dean walked over to the door and carefully checked the locks. Everything was as it had been last time he’d checked during a commercial break just before the movie was over. Slowly coming back into the room the older Winchester son checked corners and dark spots. He checked the bathroom; the closet; even under the beds._ _

__As he stood back up just at the foot of his own bed, the knife firm in his grip, Dean wondered if maybe he was getting a little paranoid. There’d been nothing. Their stuff was all as it had been; weapons and clothes and supplies untouched. There’d been no more sounds the whole time he’d been checking the room. No noises or sounds from their dad’s room that would have meant a fight was going on; hell not even the sound of a car or two driving by._ _

__Dean could still feel it though. He’d been feeling it the entire time he was wondering the room. His nerves were still twisted up tight, and his hair was still standing up. He felt antsy and under watch and it was pissing him off that he couldn’t find out why._ _

__Dean ran a hand over the back of his neck and huffed out a breath to try and calm his anxious nerves, but it didn’t do much. Green eyes flicked around the darkness one more time before he debated maybe waking Sam, but inevitably he decided against it. Sam needed to sleep and it wouldn’t be fair for Dean to just wake him up on nerves alone. The middle Winchester decided to just suck it up and go to bed; nerves be damned. He’d mention it in the morning to their dad along with the thorough search of the room which yielded nothing, and see what he said._ _

__Maybe he was just…_ _

__The sound of something shifting around like it was adjusting position broke through the silence of the night. It was barely audible, and if Dean had been breathing a hair louder he might not have missed it. There was a spring coiling tightly up in his chest that Dean didn’t want to think about, but felt dumb about at the same time. The grip on his knife tightened so much his knuckles started turning white as he slowly tilted his head upward.  
The rooms were older design; hell the whole place was despite how they decorated. Building structure couldn’t just be redone, and in a small town like this that was probably the lowest part of their list. If it an’t broke don’t fix it right? That being said the rooms’ air vents were older; wider… _ _

__Dean’s blood chilled in his veins as he looked up at the large air vent that sat above him; stretching just long enough to end a bit between his and Sam’s beds._ _

__If silence could go silent Dean was pretty sure it just did._ _

__Every hair on his body stood on end moments before everything crashed down around him. The vent grate above was forced down out of the way suddenly. It swung back on the hinges as it broke away from the ceiling, and Dean barely had time to duck enough to miss getting his skull hit. The time he spent ducking down, however; was time wasted to be moving out of the way._ _

__Instantly long, boney arms shot out of the darkness above him and grabbed hold of his t-shirt. Nails dug painfully into his skin through the fabric as Dean hollered at his attacker. The knife was slashed upward, but the awkward angle gave his assailant time to move the arm that would have taken the blade. Dean was lurched sideways all of the sudden as one hand released its grip to avoid the blade only to be yanked harshly upward after the grip returned._ _

__Dean felt a small bubble of panic start when he realized his feet weren’t on the ground anymore. His right arm was currently gripped painfully by the bicep; halting any further swings of his knife. The swallowing darkness of the vent was suddenly too close for Dean’s comfort and he twisted and kicked as best he could to pry the hands off him._ _

__“SAM!” Dean hollered into the darkness as a glance up suddenly reviled a wide eyed shadow lurking in dark above him; getting closer by the second._ _

__The youngest Winchester had been peacefully asleep when he’d heard Dean holler the first time. It had startled the youngest awake, and by the time he’d turned over in bed after shooting up he’d damn near thought he was having a nightmare._ _

__Dean had been suddenly yanked upward by ghastly limbs and hands toward the vent in the ceiling. His brother wasn’t small, or that light. Yet he was already a few feet off the ground as the arms retreated further and further into the hungry darkness above, and when Dean suddenly screamed his name… _his actual name_ … Sam knew it was not time to be gawking. _ _

__Leaping out of bed with a swift kick of his long legs Sam was instantly wrapping his arm around his brother’s legs._ _

__“Dean!!” Sam cried with panic when his brother went up further with a sudden harsh yank._ _

__“Fucking-!” Dean cursed as his mobile arm braced up against the ceiling; the darkness, and the eyes, too close to his face now, “Crist Sam pull!!”_ _

__The youngest did his best to ignore the taint of panic in his brother’s voice before he jumped up a bit and then used his weight to try and dislodge the grip on his brother. To his relief Dean dropped a little lower; enough to point that he managed to transfer his blade to his left hand._ _

__Dean swung the blade upward with as much force as he could put into it. With a slightly better angle, and the option of letting him go no longer available, the reward was the deep, sickening crack of impact into flesh and bone. There was an unholy screech that ripped through the darkness as the arms suddenly released Dean and retreated back into the void above them._ _

__The brothers fell into a heap on the floor before the screeching was joined by the sound of scraping and moving. Soon the sounds grew distant before fading out completely; leaving the brothers truly alone in the darkness once again._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Low key TBH writing the part with the vent spooked me out a bit lol.   
> 1\. I was writing it at like 2am in the dark of my own bedroom  
> 2\. I actually personally have an issue with bigger vents and ducts in the sense that they creep me out lmao  
> They've crept me out for as long as I can remember and I honestly have no idea why. I just know that even when I was a kid I hated them; still hate them. I also thought it would be a nice call back to the Ghoul episode in the early seasons. That crept me out then, creeps me out now haha
> 
> Anyway hope it was enjoyable! I'll try to update again soon as I can!  
> Also thanks much for the comment and the kudos!! Always motivating to get a notif about them.


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